Afterlife

We saw this unique Japanese film in my Death class today.  Not the best environment as not all of the windows could be covered so this movie with muted cinematography was even drabber.  My friend even thought it was in black and white.  I knew it was in color but barely.

I feel that I would have to see this movie again to really catch a lot of the symbolic detail.  I saw it blind (without preparation) which is probably best.  It did pass the bechdel test though just barely.

The idea behind the film is that when you die, you report to a drab rundown administrative facility for a week where you decide on your most pleasant memory ( by wednesday!).  Then the staff recreates the memory on film and you take that memory (and only that memory) as you move forward in your journey.

Interesting, this pertains to an article assigned earlier which compared the American medical view of death (time of death is xxx) to the Japnese idea that dying is a complex process with many steps and rituals.  The context of the article was the Japanese opposition to 'harvesting' organs for transplants.  The film reflects that idea that the process of death has twists and turns.

I read later that the filmmaker interviewed many Japanese people about their best memory and that some of these interviews are included but the viewer doesn't know which ones.

The picture I included was not one of the main characters but was acted with such concentration and sweetness.  Notice the blossoming potted plants on the windowsill.  I did not catch that detail when I saw the movie this morning.  A reviewer posited that this women died from Alzheimer dementia.  My experience with such patients is that it doesn't look anywhere near this good.

I would highly recommend this film but be prepared for a quiet introspective complex experience.